New Database from NREL Makes Costs of Energy Technologies More Transparent

A new web application collects cost and performance estimates for electric generation, advanced vehicles and renewable fuel technologies and makes them available for utilities, policy makers, consumers, and academics.

The Transparent Cost Database (TCDB) app provides technology cost and performance estimates that can be used to benchmark company costs, model energy scenarios and inform R&D decisions.

In keeping with the Obama Administration’s commitment to open and transparent data, the TCDB provides cost comparisons to make it much easier to view the range of estimates for what energy technologies such as a utility-scale wind farm, rooftop solar installation, biofuel production plant, or electric vehicle might cost today or in the future. The new database will help companies and investors make informed decisions supporting the commercialization and deployment of clean energy.

TCDB was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) through a grant from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. It provides “a first-cut estimate of current and projected costs and performance characteristics for vehicles, biofuels and electricity generation,” with a current focus on renewables, NREL analyst Austin Brown said.

The TCDB provides access to published historical and projected cost estimates for electricity generation, biofuels, and vehicle technologies. The cost data are sourced from published studies and the Department of Energy’s internal planning documents. DOE works closely with private companies to accurately estimate technology costs. This information helps DOE plan research and development.

The new database will soon allow experts to contribute reliable new information to continually expand and validate the cost information available to the public. The data are arranged so users can see a range of cost and performance numbers as well as reports on potential improvements. All data will be viewable and downloadable from DOE’s Open Energy Information platform, OpenEI.org, a virtual clearinghouse for information about energy.